


Two Princes, a Witch, and a Dragon

by thatoneinsecurenerd



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Angst, Blood and Injury, Dialogue Heavy, Implied/Referenced Character Death, M/M, Mental Instability, Multiple Personalities, Original Character(s), Writing Prompt, exorcism mention
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-03
Updated: 2020-05-03
Packaged: 2021-03-01 16:47:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,404
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23990287
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatoneinsecurenerd/pseuds/thatoneinsecurenerd
Summary: You'll want to wait on reading this until you've seen the May 01, 2020 Sanders Side episode!!Inspired by: https://writing-prompt-s.tumblr.com/post/617116549882544128/youre-a-dragon-that-is-cursed-to-change-into-a(I'm actually really bad at giving works titles.)
Relationships: Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders/Deceit Sanders
Kudos: 31





	Two Princes, a Witch, and a Dragon

Janus was a dragon, but he wasn’t born that way. He was born to two human parents in a small village just outside of the main kingdom. He hadn’t had much of an education growing up, but he’d always had a fascination with the fantastical tales his parents told him of brave knights fighting dragons. He’d always wished to find his way into the kingdom and prove to whichever prince would be crowned upon the king’s inevitable passing (for the king was ill, sick in the head. Rumors swirled that he had two other personalities, for which his sons had been named to cover up the scandal. If the people didn’t revolt, then surely the local priest would try one final exorcism that would go wrong) that he was a valiant fighter and would be a courageous knight. That he was willing to take any duties the new king would give him, even if he wasn’t sent on quests to fight dragons or stop pirates from pillaging villages like his own (except on the coast). 

When he was a teenager, he attended the new king’s coronation. Naturally, the queen had decided to crown Prince Roman as the people’s new king. Prince Roman behaved like more a knight than a prince, a bit egoistic, but he was a better option than his chaotic brother, Prince Remus. Prince Remus was rumored to suffer from his father’s same mental illness, but the only evidence was that he flirted a bit with danger (and with the self-proclaimed witch on the outskirts of Janus’s own village). 

Sometime after the coronation, after the new king had had time to settle into his new duties, Janus decided he would go to the kingdom to plead his case to the king. He was shocked to literally run into Prince Remus on the way there. The two crashed to the ground, looking each other over. 

Prince Remus was the spitting image of his twin brother, aside from the wild nature of his hair and the ripped clothes he wore, as if meaning to disguise himself as any ordinary villager. Janus hadn’t meant to address the prince, but the remark had slipped past his lips before he could stop it. “You can’t tell me that disguise actually _fools_ anyone,” Janus remarked, standing up and brushing himself off. “Your witch _‘friend’_ _must_ know who you are.” It had been the wrong thing to say. Janus watched the prince’s eyes turn feral as he stood. His grip on Janus’s arm was tight, as if he’d been caught in a bear trap. 

Janus tried to fight back as the prince dragged him back in the direction he’d came. And then even further. To the shack of the self-proclaimed witch. To the shack that all the village children had told scary stories about. The shack that parents warned their children against visiting. 

And now, Janus was being pushed through the door, the prince’s grip on him finally released as the door was slammed shut behind him. A single candle lit the windowless room, and Janus’s eyes needed a moment to adjust to the darkness. 

He saw a figure with a candle approach him and the prince. He saw the self-proclaimed witch’s face for the first time. 

She looked to be his and the prince’s age. Just barely an adult. Nothing like the old hag the village children told stories about. 

“Who’s this?” the witch asked the prince, taking a step closer to Janus. He stood his ground, trying to ignore how his leg shook. 

“Some village kid,” the prince responded, his words sounding bitter. “Thinks he knows who we really are.” 

“I see.” The witch snapped, and the room was suddenly flooded by light from candles that appeared to be placed around the room. 

“So...” Janus began, his voice shaking, “you’re really a witch?” 

“I wouldn’t lie about that. But you kids have vilified me to the point that I can’t show face anymore.” 

“You’re a kid just like us.” 

“No. I have magic. My parents left me. I had to raise myself. I had to listen to ugly rumors spread about me by people who never got to know me. I’m nothing like you, but I’m also nothing like Prince Remus. Nor is _he_ like the rumors say. Ugly, nasty things rumors are.” 

“Explain it to me, then.” 

“No, I don’t think I will. You’ve offended my friend, and so you’ve offended me. You need to learn about the power your words have on others.” 

“I’ve never spread any of the rumors.” 

“But you believed them. And now, I’ll make it so that no one believes you.” 

“What will you do?” 

“Remus, what should I do?” 

“Dragons are pretty nice," Remus contributed. "No one would believe that a dragon could be anything other than a menace to the kingdom.” 

“But he should also get to live as a boy,” the witch continued. It appeared that Janus’s presence was no longer being acknowledged as the pair brainstormed. 

“But not primarily. So he can slowly become more dragon than man in his heart.” 

“So he can spend his night as a human, realizing the monster he’s turning into because the rumors have made him so.” 

“Just like you,” Janus thought about the witch. But when her eyes turned to him, glowing a malicious, bright blue, he realized he must have said it aloud. 

“Remus, you should go. You can spread the rumor about the dragon living in the abandoned cave on the shore.” Remus nodded. He waited a moment, as the witch snapped her fingers again and Janus tumbled to the ground, his legs like jelly. Remus stepped out of the witch’s shack with a smile and a wave, an unspoken promise that he would be back to check in on her. 

Then it was just Janus and the witch. Janus could no longer deny that he was afraid, that he might not make such a good knight, after all. But he’d never have the chance to find out. His vision went black as the witch spoke some strange language. He screamed in pain as he felt his body start to change. It knocked him unconscious. 

*** 

When Janus woke, he immediately noticed the darkness. He noticed the dampness in the air. He knew he must have been in the cave. Except he wasn’t cold. And he wasn’t human. (If he’d been able to look into a mirror, he would have seen that he was a small, baby dragon, destined to get bigger as the years went on.) 

He knew what the witch had done. He didn’t dare step out into what must have been the sunlight outside of the cave (for if he was a dragon, it must have been daytime). He didn’t want to face his new reality. He didn’t want to become the evil dragon of the fantastical stories he grew up with. 

But as the years passed and he spent so much more time as a dragon, he seemed to have lost touch with part of his humanity. He spent his nights crying over all the people he’d killed because they’d intruded on his territory, looking to kill him because they’d heard about the big-bad dragon and wanted to prove themselves to the king. Remus must have spread the rumor and had Roman make a decree that a reward would be offered to whoever managed to kill the dragon. 

No one had succeeded so far, and the only part of Janus that died was a part of his humanity. He could grieve all the lives he took, but he didn’t bother remembering their faces. He didn’t bother burying the bodies like he had in the beginning. He stole their swords and any other valuables on their bodies and hoarded them. 

None of them had ever ventured into his cave at night, until one day. 

Janus was curled up on the floor of the cave, cold but unable to find warmth under the blanket he’d made of patches of furs he’d found on some of the people and animals he’d killed. He was able to hear the remaining few bats in his cave fluttering around. And as footsteps got closer to the entrance of his cave, he could hear those, too. 

He had plenty of swords he’d nicked from knights and brave villagers, but he didn’t want to use them. He was too tired after another battle earlier that week. That knight had gotten a few stabs in, and Janus was still having to tend to those wounds. He didn’t want to add anymore to his collection. He hoped whoever was coming for him thought that they’d been misled, that the rumors about a dragon living in the cave weren’t true. That they would leave him be and not kill him, anyway. 

He didn’t stand. He stayed curled up, his dragon eye glowing yellow. (One side effect of his curse was that, even as a human, his dragon side was a part of him. Half of his face was covered in small dragon scales and his eye was yellow, the pupil slit instead of round.) His dragon eye helped him see the figure stepping into the entrance of the cave. A candle illuminated the figure’s face, and it was one Janus recognized, aside from the wrinkle lines of time. 

“Finally come back to see me?” Janus called out. Then he winced, holding his side. He noticed the man’s confusion. So it wasn’t Remus, but... 

“Actually,” the man said, stepping closer to Janus. Was he not afraid of the dragon that lived in the cave? “I’m King Roman. How do you know my brother? Who are you? Why are you in the dragon’s cave?” Roman noticed how Janus was holding his side. “Are you hurt? Was it the dragon?” Roman looked around cautiously, as if searching for the dragon in the dark. 

Janus didn’t know how to respond. How could he possibly explain Remus and the witch and his curse? Did he want to explain himself to the king, to a man he didn’t know? 

Roman stepped even closer to Janus, and soon enough, he was crouched down next to him. “May I?” Roman asked, gesturing to the blankets covering the shivering dragon-man. Janus gave a small hesitant nod. 

His bare skin met the cold air, and his teeth began to chatter. He removed his hand from his side to wrap his arms around himself in an attempt to provide himself some warmth. His bloodied, tattered clothes were certainly no help. 

Roman guided his candle to each of Janus’s wounds, taking in the damage. “These are sword slashes,” Roman observed aloud. “A few days old. Who did this to you?” Janus made no move to speak. “Okay, how about I take you back to my castle, get your wounds patched up properly, let you sleep in one of my warm beds, then you answer my questions when you’re feeling better?” Janus sill said nothing. He continued to shiver, his teeth still chattering. 

Janus knew that Roman’s idea was a bad one. As soon as it was daybreak, Janus would make the shift back into a large dragon. King Roman would walk into his room, hoping to question him, only to be greeted with a giant green dragon with yellow eyes and sharp teeth. 

“What happened to your face?” Roman asked, his voice breaking Janus’s thoughts. Janus hadn’t noticed Roman’s hand reaching out and caressing the scales on the dragon half of his face. “Are these... dragon scales? How would this happen?” In his mind, the king began to connect the dots. 

This man knew his brother. This man had half of a dragon’s face. That was only possible by magic. Remus had been rumored to spend his days with a witch when the boys were younger. “So there’s actually a witch,” Roman finally concluded allowed. Janus nodded. “And she did this to you. Because of my brother?” Janus gave no answer, but Roman must have taken it as an affirmative. 

“So you’ve been like this for a while,” Roman continued. “And you never thought to pay the witch a visit to ask her to change you back?” Janus shook his head. 

“They hated me,” Janus said softly. “I said a few wrong things and they were angry about all the hurtful rumors about them, rumors that I’d mentioned. They took out their anger on me. I doubt they could so easily forgive me, if they were angry at me as a representative for the whole population.” 

“They turned me into a dragon,” Janus continued, placing his hand on Roman’s, over his scales. “During the day, I’m a dragon, but as soon as the sun sets, I’m a human again. I’m left to remember the lives I took that day, the injuries I’d sustained.” 

“This is my fault,” Roman said, frowning. “I ordered your head on a platter because I trusted my brother and I wanted the well-being of my people. It’s been years, and I had never before thought to check if the rumor was true. I took my brother at his word, ignoring the rumor about him that said that he was insane. You’d think I know my twin brother, but we weren’t ever that close once it became clear we were competing for the crown and our mother favored me.” 

“You didn’t know.” 

“But I can help you change back,” Roman said, brushing over Janus’s remark. “If you’re a human at night, I can come back tomorrow night and we can go talk to the witch.” 

“If you go back tonight,” Janus realized, “the people would think that you were finally the one to kill the dragon. They would leave me alone.” 

“You can’t possibly tell me you want to stay here, spending half of your life as a dragon.” 

“I don’t think the witch would be willing to change me back.” 

“I could order her to. I’m the king.” 

“I think she’d be more loyal to your brother than to you.” 

“She can’t disobey a royal order.” 

“Look, I’ll let you help me, but if it blows up in your face, I’m not going to feel sorry for you.” Roman nodded. 

“I’ll be back here tomorrow, then. Same time. I’ll let the kingdom know tomorrow that the dragon has been killed.” 

“How do I know you won’t go tell your brother about me?” 

“I swear it. I swear that I won’t tell anyone about who you really are. I swear that I’ll come back tomorrow night to help you.” Roman slid a ruby ring off of his forefinger and held it out to Janus. It looked extremely valuable. “Keep this. Knowing that it’s missing will remind me where it is. I’ll be sure to come back for it and for you.” Janus took the ring and slid it on his own finger. 

“You’re a good king.” 

“I try to be.” Roman stood. “I’ll see you tomorrow night.” Janus nodded. As Roman and his candle stepped further away, Janus felt himself feeling lonely for the first time since his first week in the cave as a dragon. 

*** 

The sun went down the next day, and Janus could feel his claws receding and his scales fading. He opened his eyes to his dark cave, unable to see as much through the darkness with only a single dragon eye. He crawled over to his blanket, even though he knew it did almost nothing against the cold. 

He waited for Roman to appear, to come back for him and the shiny red ring on his finger. He tried his hardest to stay awake. He listened to the fluttering of the bats’ wings, he thought of what had happened the night before that he knew wasn’t a dream – not as long as he had the king’s ring on his finger. 

And finally, the king did return. If Janus were a normal human and a child, he would have jumped up and hug Roman, grateful for his return and for agreeing to save him from an eternity as a dragon, alone in his cave. Instead, he stood carefully, holding his side (which was probably infected, but he didn't dare look at it). He walked up to Roman and held out his ring. 

“Keep it,” the king said. Janus shrugged and slid the ring back on his finger. He couldn’t deny that he enjoyed valuable loot. “Will you know how to get to the witch’s shack from here?” Janus shook his head. 

“But I can try,” he said. He began walking out of the cave, not looking back to see if Roman was following. But he was. “As long as you can get me back to the village. The shack is on the outskirts.” Roman nodded, increasing the length of his stride so he could take the lead. 

The two walked in silence to the witch’s shack. They walked along the sand on the beach. They walked along a dark forest, crickets chirping in an incomprehensible conversation among each other. Once they passed through the forest, Janus took the lead. He froze on the threshold of the witch’s property, the fear of all the rumors he’d grown up with flooding him. 

“Are you ready?” Roman asked, looking over at Janus. He could sense the man’s fear. 

“What if she hurts you, too? You don’t deserve that.” 

“She can’t hurt the king. The people would come after her.” 

“She’s loyal to your brother, and he’s loyal to her. He would become king in your stead and he could have anyone who dared come after her hanged for treason – or whatever punishments you royals hand out.” 

“I don’t like to hand out any, but if I have to, to this witch, I will.” Janus nodded. He took a deep breath to put on a brave face. He’d once wanted to impress the king with his courage so he could be a knight. Now, he just wanted to appear courageous when he faced the witch. He no longer cared about impressing the king. The king couldn’t possibly ever get over his pity of him. 

Janus walked onto the witch’s property, then through the door of her shack, Roman right behind him. 

Just as the last time he’d been there, a single candle lit the room. But this time, with his dragon eye, Janus wasn’t left so completely blind. He could see and hear the witch before she stepped into the room. 

“Remus, what are you doing here?” she asked, before even shining her candle in Janus and Roman’s direction. 

“Guess again,” Janus spoke. The witch’s candle found him and Roman. 

“You,” she said angrily. “And King Roman.” Her voice became pleasant. She set her candle down and curtsied, holding the end of her nice nightgown (which must have been provided by Remus). “To what do I owe the pleasure?” 

“You’re going to turn this man back into a human. Hasn’t he suffered as a dragon long enough?” 

“ _Him_?” Her voice was loud, angry. “What about _me_? My parents left because they were afraid of my magic, and rumors spread in this village so that the only one not scared of me was your brother. _I’m_ the one who’s suffered. I’ve been suffering my whole life. He’s only been suffering for a few years. He hasn’t _nearly_ learned his lesson.” 

“He had no control over anyone’s actions but his own. You were angry and so you took it out on him, but now I’m ordering you, as your king, to undo your curse, witch.” 

“And if I don’t?” 

“I’ll have you punished for treason.” 

“Your brother would never allow it.” 

“He’s merely my advisor. I don’t always have to listen to his advice. But if you’d like to test me, then I suppose we’re done here.” But Roman made no move to leave. So neither did Janus. They waited for the witch to come to a decision. 

“Fine!” she finally cried. “I’ll undo the curse. But you’ll have to pardon if I leave his face like that, so he’ll remember what I did to him.” 

“No.” 

“I agree,” Janus said. Roman shot him a confused look. “I’m sure it looks nice,” Janus explained. “Besides, it’s helpful. Can I keep the amplified hearing, too?” 

“Just the face,” the witch said. 

“Deal.” Janus held out his hand. The witch took it and shook it, signifying that they’d come to an agreement. They released each other’s hands. 

“King Roman, you’ll want to step outside.” The king nodded and did as the witch instructed. He must have trusted that the witch wouldn’t go back on her word. Janus wasn’t so sure. 

“Wherever I go after this, if I wake up and I’m a dragon, I’m coming here to murder you,” Janus told her, feeling no remorse. 

“Relax, dragon-boy. I’m always true to my word.” The next words she spoke were in that strange language, and Janus fell to the floor, wincing in pain as he did, jolting a couple of his wounds. 

*** 

When Janus woke again, he didn't know where he was. But he was warm for the first time in a long time. He could see the sunlight through a large window on the wall to his left. He lifted his hands to his face, surprised to see actual human hands there. The witch had been true to her word, after all. It was daytime and he was a human again. His curse had been lifted. 

Janus got out from under the warm blankets on the warm bed. He looked around the room and quickly realized where he was. The king must have taken him back to his castle. 

His suspicions were confirmed when the king, himself, walked in. “Glad to see you’re awake and human,” Roman said. “How do you feel?” 

“It feels nice to be myself again. I’d been a dragon for too long,” Janus responded. “Did she keep my face?” 

“She did.” 

“And it looks nice?” 

“Definitely.” 

“And you’re not scared of me?” 

“You’re not a dragon. You’re a man just like me.” 

“But I’m defined by my past.” 

“Maybe. But you couldn’t control your circumstances. You can control how you change from them. As a human, you don’t have to kill anyone. You can put that behind you.” 

“I no longer have anywhere to go.” 

“Then you can stay here with me.” 

“And your brother?” 

“No. I banished him. I imagine he’s living with the witch.” 

“Why’d you banish him? _How_ could you banish him? He’s your brother.” 

“He hurt one of my people.” 

“You don’t even know my name.” 

“Maybe not, but you’re still one of my subjects. He and the witch subjected you to torture for years. He’s lucky I’m allowing them to stay with each other and stay unharmed, themselves.” 

“That’s a lot to do for someone you don’t know.” 

“ _Can_ I get to know you? You can stay here and you can be my new advisor.” 

“I don’t know the first thing about people anymore.” 

“Then you can learn. Please. I want to help you.” 

“I’m a human again. Don’t you think you’ve helped enough?” 

“I don’t think I’ve helped _nearly_ enough.” 

“You don’t have to make up for your brother’s actions. That should be his job.” 

“But he won’t.” 

“That doesn’t mean you have to.” 

“Maybe I want to.” 

“Why.” 

“I want to help you.” 

“Why?” 

“Do I need a reason?” 

“If it’s pity, I don’t need it.” 

“It’s not.” 

“Fine, then don’t tell me.” 

“Tell me your name and maybe I will.” Janus sighed. Had they really gotten anywhere with this conversation. 

“My name is Janus,” he said. 

“It’s nice.” 

“Thanks.” 

*** 

A few months later found Janus and Roman both in the king’s throne room. Janus had adapted to the atmosphere of the castle. He’d gotten used to socializing with people again, after getting over the fact that they weren’t coming to kill him. The people in the castle were, admittedly, a little wary of him because of the scales on half his face, but he proved himself to be a great advisor. He was able to help Roman solve domestic and foreign matters. He was a great communicator and negotiator. 

He and Roman became close friends, a bond strengthened by Janus’s position as Roman’s advisor and the trust that this meant that they have in each other, but especially Roman in Janus. 

Unbeknownst to everyone, Roman and Janus became more than friends. Given the era in which they were growing up in, they couldn’t express the romantic feelings they felt for each other freely. They could brush hands as they walked side by side, having a work-related conversation. Janus could visit Roman’s quarters late at night, and if anyone asked why he was asleep in Roman’s bed the next morning, they could say that Janus was too sleepy to make it back to his room after they’d finished their work-related discussion. 

Behind closed doors, they could hold hands and share kisses. They could stroke each other's hair and call each other whispered pet names. They could be each other’s closest confidants outside of their professions. They could learn about each other’s past, they could imagine a future where people like them could express themselves freely (and sometimes, they found themselves wishing that they lived in that future). 

But when those future people discovered the remnants of the kingdom and learned about what had happened between the two, the lie would once again spread that they were no more than just friends and partners only in the working sense. But they were so, so much more than that to each other. They were each other’s everything, and they had to hide these feelings behind closed bedroom doors and under warm blankets. 

King Roman had to marry a princess to unify their kingdoms, and Janus had to be the one to advise him to do it. He had to pretend not to be hurt when a woman took his place in Roman’s bed. But the poor princess had to pretend that she didn't know that the prince was only with her to produce an heir, that he was in love with his advisor and he snuck off to see him whenever he could. 

Life was unfair for all of them. But they had to pretend that everything was alright. Future historians would think that everything in their castle was alright. 


End file.
